Peter aimed to fly out to Lisbon late February, to put the boat in the water but Covid prevented that. After a number of cancelled flights, he made it out on 3rd June, with Tim, both having been double jabbed 2 weeks prior. The aim was to sail round into the Med but with the boat yard taking their time to put the boat in, the uncertain Covid situation and the 90 in 180 day rule, things didn't go according to plan. Marinas in the Algarve and Spain were charging 1000 Euros a month, which was too expensive for leaving the boat, so the decision was made to leave the boat at Marina Parque das Nacoes and return home. The boys had a few days at anchor, down river at Cascais, before flying back.

Plans were then made for a return, so I could have some time on board. Peter flew out on the 28th July, to prepare the boat and relax. A lot of time was spent cooling down with a beer, as it was far too hot on board or in the sun! I flew out to Lisbon on the 13th August, arriving in time for lunch. We had dinner at Bacalhau in the evening, eating salted cod dishes, accompanied by a very nice Portuguese white wine. Saturday was all about provisioning the boat for 4 or 5 days of sailing and anchoring, then we left for Cascais on Sunday morning. We motored down the Tagus with the tide, admiring the sights of Lisbon and Belem, before the wind picked up and we were able to sail for the last hour or so. We anchored in the bay, close to friends Rick and Mary. Pete and I had a quick swin in the freezing Atlantic, before Rick and Mary came aboard with a gift of home-baked cookies. We opened a bottle of wine to share and went below, as Rick was burning in the sun. The wind was gusting 25 knots and suddenly changed direction 180 degrees, tripping our anchor and causing us to drag until the stern was in the dinghy sailing area. Unfortunately the anchor had snagged on a very large chain, so Pete had to go over the side a couple of times to get a rope round to free us. It was a little hairy, trying to avoid fast moving dinghies and collapsing wind-surfers but we managed and reset the anchor. The wind stayed up until late into the evening and then died, allowing us a relaxed night.